In the current business intelligence landscape, tools such as QlikSense and Power BI represent two of the most common solutions for analyzing and visualizing data. Both platforms offer advanced functionality to support data-based business decisions, but they are distinguished by their approach, architecture, mode of use, and pricing models. In this article, we are going to make a detailed comparison between Qlik and Power BI, analyzing their characteristics, strengths and differences, to understand together which of the two is the most suitable tool for the analytical needs of your business.
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When choosing a Business Intelligence system, it is necessary to consider several factors, such as compatibility with files and extensions (databases and data warehouses, connectors, spreadsheets, PDFs, text files, Excel, CSV), integration with other systems (CRM, purchases, logistics, billing), the convenience of the service, the operational capacity, the processing speed and, of course, the price.
Every company is unique and has specific software needs. When choosing a Business Intelligence (BI) system, it is essential to understand how it works (or in which areas it does not work/does not meet specific needs), what is needed to implement it and how it can help the company achieve its business objectives.
Although there are many options available, the two BI tools at the top of the industry today are Qlik and Power BI. Both are powerful data analysis tools, capable of solving most (if not all) of the problems that afflict companies of all sizes. But which one is best for your company?
Let's find out, in the next sections.
To begin with, let's start by presenting the two tools individually and see what they have to offer before moving on to a more direct comparison.
Power BI is a business intelligence software developed by Microsoft, the famous technological giant that over the years has transformed the corporate work landscape with its tools for office work.
Launched in 2014, Power BI has quickly established itself as one of the leaders in the Business Intelligence sector, thanks to a combination of ease of use, versatility and constant innovation. Its close integration with other Microsoft products, such as Excel, Azure, Teams and SharePoint, has then made it particularly attractive for organizations already part of the Microsoft ecosystem.
Power BI allows users to connect to a wide variety of data sources, to transform and model data with intuitive tools, and to create interactive reports and dynamic dashboards. In addition, it offers advanced artificial intelligence, predictive analysis and collaboration capabilities, accessible even to non-technical users. This combination of accessibility and power has helped make it the most used BI solution globally, both by small businesses and large multinationals.
It excels in areas such as:
Qlik Sense is the evolution of QlikView, one of the most used Business Intelligence (BI) tools in recent years. It's considered simple to use on the interface front, intuitive, and popular enough to have carved out a prominent place in the BI landscape.
Developed by Qlik, Qlik Sense is based on a associative engine that allows you to combine data from different sources, facilitating non-linear discoveries and insights that would be difficult to obtain with traditional query-based tools.
Qlik Sense offers dynamic dashboards, customizable views and augmented intelligence functionality, making data analysis accessible to both technical and non-technical users, in a self-service but controlled environment. It is available both in version Cloud which on-premises, supporting modern and collaborative analysis scenarios.
The platform has several essential advantages for those looking for a simple but functional BI solution:
Now that we have a little clearer about the main characteristics of the two tools, the time has come to put them next to each other and see how they behave in the key areas affecting a Business Intelligence tool worthy of the name.
Qlik Sense offers a clean and minimalist interface, built around its unique associative data model. The platform favors self-service analysis through a drag-and-drop system that automatically highlights relationships between data.
A distinctive element is the ability to dynamically explore data, visualizing associated and unassociated data through a color coding in green, white and gray.
Let's see in the table below some of the features aimed at improving the user experience:
Power BI has a ribbon-style interface (ribbon) familiar to Windows and Microsoft Office users. It integrates perfectly with other Microsoft products, making it particularly suitable for organizations already immersed in that ecosystem. The workspace system encourages collaboration between teams in sharing and reviewing reports.
As with Qlik Sense, we see in the table below some of its key features in this area:
Qlik Sense uses its proprietary associative engine, which automatically maintains relationships across all data points. This in-memory–based approach allows users to explore data from any angle without having to define hierarchies or relationships in advance.
The platform compresses data to up to one-tenth of its original size, enabling fast processing of large volumes of information.
In addition, it supports more than 40 direct data connectors, including databases, file systems, and cloud services, and provides powerful ETL capabilities with integrated data profiling and intelligent data preparation. It also offers script-based data modeling through Qlik’s proprietary expression language for complex transformations and includes incremental load functionality that updates only modified data, optimizing refresh performance.
Power BI, on the other hand, uses a columnar database engine optimized for both in-memory and disk-based analytics. The platform leverages Microsoft’s extensive data ecosystem and provides a robust modeling system based on relationships and DAX (Data Analysis Expressions).
In addition, it offers more than 120 native data connectors with regular updates for new sources, Power Query for visual ETL using the M language for advanced transformations, Dataflows for centralized data preparation and reuse across reports, and DirectQuery mode for real-time analytics without importing data.
Power BI offers a rich library of visualizations with a strong focus on aesthetics and interactivity. The platform provides both native and custom visuals through the AppSource marketplace. Key capabilities include more than 50 built-in visualization types (with hundreds more available in the marketplace), AI-driven visualization recommendations based on data type, advanced formatting controls with pixel-perfect positioning, and powerful cross-filtering and drill-through features.
Qlik Sense focuses on interactive visualizations that dynamically respond to user selections. The platform’s associative model ensures that each chart automatically updates to display related data, providing continuous analytical context. Qlik Sense offers more than 30 native visualization types with extensive customization options, intelligent visuals that automatically suggest the most suitable chart type, custom themes with support for extensions for branded visualizations, and advanced mapping capabilities with integrated GeoAnalytics.
Power BI leverages Microsoft’s artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities to deliver sophisticated analytics tools that are also accessible to business users. It includes native AI capabilities through AI Insights, integration with Azure Machine Learning, Quick Measures for common advanced calculations, and automated machine learning tools for predictive analytics.
Qlik Sense, on the other hand, integrates advanced analytics capabilities directly into its associative engine, enabling complex calculations and statistical analysis without leaving the platform. It offers built-in statistical functions and advanced aggregations, deep integration with R and Python for analytics, set analysis expressions for complex cohort analysis, and predictive analytics through Qlik AutoML capabilities.
Regarding the development aspect, Qlik Sense offers a robust environment that balances ease of use and powerful customization options. The mashup and extension capabilities of the platform allow for extensive customization like Open APIs for custom development and integration, web mashup integration capabilities for embedded analytics, custom visualization extensions using standard web technologies, and support for version control and DevOps integration.
Power BI emphasizes development within the Microsoft ecosystem, offering deep integration with TypeScript for custom visual development, the Power BI Embedded analytics platform, Azure DevOps for deployment, and the DAX and M languages for advanced customizations.
Power BI excels in integration with the Microsoft ecosystem, offering native connectivity with Azure services and Office 365 applications, while also supporting third-party integrations. It provides seamless integration across the entire Microsoft stack (Excel, Azure, and SharePoint), custom data connectors through the Power Query SDK, embedded analytics via Power BI Embedded, and native integration with Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365.
Qlik Sense, by contrast, takes a platform-agnostic approach to integration, offering flexible deployment options and strong compatibility with a wide range of systems. Its open architecture enables seamless integration with existing enterprise systems. For example, it provides enterprise-grade APIs supporting REST and WebSocket protocols, native connectors for major enterprise systems such as SAP and Salesforce, support for both Windows and Linux deployment environments, and the ability to develop custom connectors using the Qlik Connector SDK.
Qlik Sense implements a comprehensive security framework with granular controls and robust authentication options, making it suitable for highly regulated industries. Among the main features are Section Access for row- and column-level security, support for multiple authentication methods (SAML, JWT, LDAP), detailed audit trails and security reporting, and compliance with ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, and HIPAA.
Power BI, on the other hand, exploits Microsoft's famous and robust enterprise security infrastructure and offers numerous compliance certifications through the Azure security framework in addition to Row-level security through DAX expressions, integration with Microsoft Enter ID, encryption at rest and in transit, and multi-factor authentication (MFA) for more secure access.
It also provides threat monitoring and detection through Microsoft Defender, role-based access control (RBAC), and centralized security policy management via Endpoint Manager.
A digital tool is only as effective as the support available to its users, and both platforms provide a range of options to support their respective communities.
Qlik maintains an active user community and offers comprehensive support options, although its community is smaller than Power BI’s. Available resources include the Qlik Community Forum with active user participation, official training through Qlik Continuous Classroom, a partner network for local support and implementation, and direct assistance via Qlik Enterprise Support.
Power BI, on the other hand, benefits from Microsoft’s vast user base and partner ecosystem, offering one of the broadest ranges of community support options. These include a large global community with active forums, monthly updates and feature releases shared through Microsoft blogs, extensive documentation and learning paths on Microsoft Learn, and a wide network of certified partners and consultants.
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After the comparison on the capabilities of the two, let's dedicate a separate section to one of the most important aspects that can determine the choice between one of the two solutions, namely the cost.
In the following tables, we have summarized the main licensing plans of each of the two platforms, their cost in dollars and some of their most important main characteristics to outline the overall picture as clear as possible. As always, if you would like more detailed information, please consult the respective dedicated pages on the websites of the two companies.
So, we come to the fateful question: which of them to choose?
As always, the answer depends on the specific needs of your organization, your budget, the technological ecosystem already in use and the level of technical expertise available. Both tools are excellent, but they stand out in very, very different settings.
Our vote in this case goes to Power BI, for several reasons.
We could simply say that it is highly valued by both Gartner and Forrester — and although Qlik is gaining ground, it has yet to compete with established rivals — but the main reasons are other:
Second, the problems of the old QlikView are widely known and many of these problems are still encountered even with Qlik Sense:
Although there are therefore viable application cases for Qlik Sense, especially in large companies, the Microsoft Business Intelligence platform wins the comparison by virtue of its versatility and wide scalability, making it a much more attractive option in the long term for companies and businesses of all sectors and sizes.
There's a reason why the Business Intelligence market is growing so fast: data is gold waiting to be extracted, and sitting on it doing nothing is probably the best way to miss opportunities as valuable as your revenue.
This is why it is important to find the right tool finally to be able to use them properly and the choice of this tool should not be taken lightly, but carefully observed and studied in order to find the most suitable solution not only for the current moment but also for the near future of your business.
To date, this tool seems to be Microsoft Power BI and the Redmond company's Business Intelligence platform continues year after year to grind support with companies of all sectors and sizes and consolidating its position as one of the market leaders. So why wait to try it out?
1) What is the main difference between Qlik Sense and Power BI?
Qlik Sense is based on an associative engine that enables non-linear exploration across related and unrelated data, while Power BI primarily relies on relational data modeling and calculations using DAX, with strong integration into the Microsoft ecosystem.
2) Which of the two is more suitable for non-technical users?
In general, Power BI is very accessible for report creation thanks to its drag-and-drop capabilities, although it may require more advanced skills when it comes to data modeling and using DAX. Qlik Sense offers a less technical frontend and a smooth user experience, but backend work and data modeling often require more specialized expertise.
3) Which solution is better for self-service analytics?
Both support self-service analytics, but with different approaches. Qlik Sense focuses on exploration driven by data associations, while Power BI relies on interactive reports and dashboards built on a well-defined data model that enables consistent analysis.
4) Does Power BI work only in Microsoft environments?
No. While integration with Microsoft 365 and Azure is a major advantage, Power BI supports a wide range of data sources and multiplatform scenarios, including mixed environments and access from mobile devices.
5) Which tool offers more visualization and customization options?
Power BI tends to offer greater variety thanks to native visuals and custom visuals available in the marketplace, with very detailed formatting controls. Qlik Sense provides solid interactive visuals, themes, and extensions, and is particularly effective for analysis based on selections and contextual relationships.
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